Kid reporter Hilde Lysiak gets apology from Arizona town after marshal threatened her

Officials in a town near the Arizona-Mexico border have apologized to a nationally-knownkid reporterafter a Patagonia marshal threatened to arrest her.

Hilde Kate Lysiak — reporter, editor and publisher of the Orange Street News — posted a YouTube video of the town mayor reading an apology.

Apart from running the Pennsylvania-based news website, the 12-year-old is also the youngest member of the national Society of Professional Journalists. Her past reporting has received national media attention, with some people criticizing the topics she reports on because of her age.

'Freedom of the press stuff'

According to HIilde, Patterson stopped her and asked for her identification, and she identified herself by name and as a reporter.

“I don’t want to hear about any of that freedom of the press stuff,” Patterson reportedly told her.

Hilde later went up to Patterson with her camera recording, and asked him to confirm that he threatened to arrest her and explain why. Patterson did so.

'Yeah, how is that illegal?'

"You stopped me earlier and you said that I can be thrown in juvie. What exactly am I doing that's illegal?" Hilde asked Patterson.

Before Patterson explained, he inaccurately told her she can't use his image on the internet.

“You can tape me, OK. But what I’m going to tell you is if you put my face on the internet, it’s against the law in Arizona, OK?” he said. “So, I’m not giving you permission to use my picture or my face on the internet. Do you understand all that?”

Patterson went on to tell her that he was worried about her safety, and had told her not to follow the marshals because they were going into an area where people have seen mountain lions. From Patterson's perspective, Hilde had ignored a lawful order, the video shows.

"Yeah, how is that illegal?" Hilde asked. "I understand that you're concerned about the safety, but what exactly am I doing?"

Patterson insisted she disobeyed and also lied about where she was going. He told her she originally said she was going to her friend's house when he first stopped her, and instead she followed him, the video shows.

"You can lie to your mother, you can lie to your father, you can lie to your priest, but you can't lie to a law-enforcement officer," Patterson told her.

Lysiak tried to explain something to him, but he cut her off. He told her he was going to get in touch with her parents before he took off in his truck.

'We are sorry, Hilde'

In an earlier statement posted on the town's website, officials said Patterson had been disciplined, but that those details wouldn't be made public because it is a personnel issue.

This week, the town offered a formal apology to Hilde.

“The governing body of the town of Patagonia would like to apologize for the First Amendment rights violation inflicted upon Hilde Lysiak, a young reporter who is in our community," Mayor Andrea Wood said. “We are sorry, Hilde. We encourage and respect your continued aspirations as a successful reporter.

"We believe and fully support the constitutional right to freedom of speech in the public sector. We will not tolerate bias of any kind, including infringement of freedom of speech.”

Hilde emailed a statement to The Arizona Republic, saying she accepted the mayor's and town's apology.

"Now it is over. I want to thank Patagonia Mayor Andrea Wood and the Town Council. I am so relieved," Hilde said in her e-mail. "This wasn't just about me — but about the First Amendment rights of every other citizen in town, especially those who, unlike me, don't have a microphone. Now I just want to move forward with covering the news. Thank you Patagonia."

Social-media reaction

The video of her interaction with the marshalhas been viewed more than 481,000 times as of Feb. 28 on Orange Street News's YouTube account.

Since Hilde broke the story, Twitter users have applauded her bravery.

"Keep it standing up for all of our constitutional rights, Hilde! You have a huge future in speaking to truth to power!," a user named Perry Lambert tweeted. "I look forward for you to interview all the candidates for the 2020 presidential election!"

Keep it standing up for all of our constitutional rights, Hilde! You have a huge future in speaking to truth to power!

I look forward for you to interview all the candidates for the 2020 presidential election! Wink, wink nudge, nudge! 😉👍

Previous reporting

In 2016, Hilde became a media sensation. At the time, she was 9, and had broke the news about a homicide in her neighborhood in Selingsgrove. The headline on that April 2, 2016, story was EXCLUSIVE: MURDER ON NINTH STREET!

The article attracted critical comments form social-media users, questioning if it was appropriate for a 9-year-old girl to report on a crime scene.

Hilde responded to her critics with a three-minute video in which she is wearing a button on her shirt that said, "I ♥ free speech." She read some of the harsh comments from social-media users and responded to them.

“I know some of you just want me to sit down and be quiet because I’m 9,” she said. “If you want me to stop covering news, then you get off your computers and do something about the news. There, is that cute enough for you?"